Product Description
The largest home improvement manual on the market, includes 600 pages, 500 projects, and more than 3,000 full-color illustrations for home repairs and improvements.

Organized in four large sections of subject matter to make the information easy to find, including: Inside Your Home, Outside Your Home, Your Home's Systems, and Basics You Should Know.

This book is designed so readers can scan each page and quickly understand the scope of each project.

Color bars located on the outer edge of each page designate each section to make it easy for readers to see where they are in the book.

You'll Need boxes list the skills, time, and tools required to complete each project shown in the book.

Material Matters features educate the reader about the pros and cons of different types of materials to use for the job.

Helpful Hints features highlight the how-to wisdom of the Better Homes and Gardens^(r) team of experts. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Excellent home reference.Even for beginners.
Excellent reference.Even for beginners.Illustrations are very detailed and easy to follow instructions.Nice rating system for each job on its level of difficulty.My father-in-law has an older edition.A lot of the same info and pictures.Just better colors and some new tips.It has saved us a lot of money since we can fix things on our own.Even with no home improvement experience.I mean none.

This is a good book. Here are some others.


This is a good book, but covers an awful lot of topics, some in not very much detail. However, no one book can cover all the intricacies of home improvement and construction. So it's best to try to look at the book you're thinking of buying before you purchase it. Try a bookstore or library or home inmprovement store, if possible. I have purchased the following books and found them to be very helpful to me:

New Complete Guide to Home Repair & Improvement (Better Homes & Gardens);

Do It Yourself Home Improvement: Step by Step Guide to Home Improvement;

Ultimate Guide to Home Repair & Improvement (Ultimate Guide);

Encyclopedia of Home Maintenance & Repair - This is a black & white book, but has very good explanations, especially of electrical.

Popular Mechanics When Duct Tape Just Isn't Enough: Quick Fixes for Everyday Disasters (Popular Mechanics) - This is kind of a "Hints from Heloise" for the home fix'r up'r.

Great advice
I have given this book out many times as closing presents to first time homeowners and have heard back that it saves money on simple home repairs.

The best one out there...
In my opinion this is the best Do-It-Yourself book I've yet come across. It is superior to its competition for the following reasons: 1. Its comprehensiveness- in almost 600 pages, it covers pretty much every area of interest to the Home DIYer. Of course there are probably a few problems that were left out, as the Spotlight Reviewer whined, but no book can possibly cover everything. This one seems to hit more than any other though. 2. The clarity of its illustrations. This was the biggest seller for me. The illustrations in most other DIY books look like they were sketched by plumbers, electricians, etc. (i.e. badly) or conversely they show awful black and white photos which are obscured by shadows and hands. The wonderful illustrations in this book actually serve to illuminate the processes they describe. This is an extremely helpful book which I highly recommend.

Great How to Book
600 pages and covers just about any home repair or improvement from hanging a door to retiling a kitchen. The drawings are comprehensive and well executed. There's a fine index and the instructions are step by step.

A feature that I really like is the "You'll need" which gives the Skill level, time and tools needed to complete each task.

This is the best of the home repair books I reviewed before purchasing. ... Read more

Product Description
The ultimate source on home repairs for the fast-growing U.S. Latino market. 2,000+ illustrations. 75 color photos. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Really helpful
I've learned a lot with this book and i recommend it for those little repairs at home.

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Aprendí mucho con este libro, lo recomiendo para esas pequeñas reparaciones en casa.

Mejoras para el hogar 1-2-3
This was a gift to a friend.He loves it and it has been helpful with his understanding of household repair.Very good. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great BOOK!
TIME Life Books are great for instructional purposes. This book is easy to read and provided many pictures to guide you as you build your outdoor project.We use this as a guide for building our fence and outdoor patio cover. Great book! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Just Scratches The Surface
This book scratches the surface of heating and cooling.If you'replanning on rerunning some ductwork and need a primer on the principles ofair movement, look elsewhere.This book tries to cover too much in toolittle space.If you're just looking for the very basics and maintenancetips, this will do fine, but the serious do it yourselfer might bedisappointed.

Heating and Cooling
This book explains the basics of heating and cooling very well.Gives a general overview of household projects and steps necessary to complete project.Covers both forced air and hot water heating systems. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (11)

Great book
I've had this book for about 6 months and have used it a dozen times to help with projects around the house.Very informative with easy to follow directions.

Wow, what a great book
Well worth having. The Creative Homeowner editors did a great job compiling the contents of this book, complete with step-by-step instructions on most every project through the intermediate skill level. In other words, for every room in the house, this book will get you through the standard remodeling and repair projects with flying colors. They even point to outside and online resources for further reference and details if needed. The same company also publishes another great book to have, the Black & Decker Complete Home Improvement: with 300 Projects and 2,000 Photos (Black & Decker Complete Photo Guide). Between the two, you're stocked, locked, and ready to work. They also make great gifts.

Great for 1st time homeowner
After checking out this book at a local chain bookstore, I was convinced that this is a perfect basic home repair book for a first time homeowner. A vast range of topics are covered, there are many full color pictures for explanation, and the layout is easily read. When I sent this to my brother as a housewarming gift he was very excited and told me it was exactly what he needed! The fact that I didn't pay full cover price and got free shipping (this is a heavy book) was icing on the cake. A great deal!

great response from seller
I didn'e get the item the first time I ordered it, when I contacted the seller they contacterd me back very quickly and sent the item I was missing within 4 days

Ultimate Guide to Home Repair & Improvement
This is a well layed out and well detailed guide book. However, there could be more thoroughness in some areas. Overall, great resource. ... Read more

Product Description

From the most trusted, authoritative, and experienced name in the do-it-yourself field, here is the clearest, most completely illustrated, and most up-to-date reference. If you plan to do things right, this book is the essential resource.

The Stanley Complete Step-by-Step Book of Home Repair and Improvement

* More than 2,000 clear, accurate full-color illustrations
* "Doer-friendly" instructions written by experts with hands-on experience
* Latest tools, methods, and materials described
* Highlighted safety and environmental concerns
* Helpful sidebars and cross-references
* Large upright format with step-by-step layouts ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

An excellent read
This book is a real good addition to every carpenter's library. You could even use the woodworking section of this book (Chapter 3) to help you build library shelving that you could then use to place this book (or similar woodworking books) upon. Hot dog!

The illustrations were fun, but they fell short. Any good profesional worth his spackle knows, not every project goes to plan. Aluminum foil covered pennies installed incorrectly in the fuse box, or sump pump flooding, or what to do when you drop a running bandsaws in the crib, the illustrations never tell you about what to do then. But they're part of any job, yet the book really leaves you out to dry.There isn't even a single section on Stop! Drop! and Roll! What if you forgot? What if you mixed them up? What then?

It's still really helpful and comprehensive though.

And while helpful and comprehensive, I do have a few points of "disagreement" about this book too. Mr. Huffington is the profesional, I know, but consider: when it comes to hanging the wallpaper, your standard staple gun work just as well as Mr. Hufnagel's more traditional glue methods. And shingles aren't nearly as complicated as he makes it out to be. Am I the only one who has ever used a tarp to stop leaking? I doubt it. And particleboard cabinets do, too, work.You just need to paint them yellow or black. Mr. TV-money never tells you that. And you might as well rip out the chapter on replacing clogged drainage pipes. It's a waste. Just use the chemicals you have left over from sealing your grout (Chapter 13) and pour them down the drain. Drop in a lit match, leave the room, and you just saved time and money.

And while I didn't care for the salty langauge he choosesto describe his various chores, I forgive him. He should just clean up his "blue" act some. Kids might be reading this.

Although maybe more kids should read this. With their dainty hands they could replace you when it comes to cleaning the gunk from stormdrains (Chapter 23) and dislodging chunks of wood that might jam up an otherwise perfectly good Skill Saw (Chapter 3).

I highly, highly recommend this book!!

A great resource
This book is a must-have for anyone who owns a home.It offers clear, step-by-step instructions and expert advice for a wide range of projects.

Easy to follow, useful reference
This book is a must-have reference for the novice to the expert do-it-yourselfer.It contains well presented, step by step directions to everything from simple, routine fixes to more advanced around the house projects.The clear photography really helped to clarify the sequence of the work.Would make a great gift.

This Home Repair Book Rocks
I highly recommend Stanley's new Guide Book to Home Repair.After recently renting an unrenovated loft space in Brooklyn, I found myself facing a litany of home repair "projects".My budget was too small to hire a contractor and though I'm pretty much clueless when it comes to anything involving tools, I decided to give it a go on my own.Although there were a few mishaps, I have created a liveable space and the Stanley Guide was a huge help.They cover most common household building and repair projects in a fashion that's very easy for a layman to follow.Even one that doesn't know a sprocket from a ratchet.

doing-it-myself in brook-town
I recently moved into a new home that needs a lot of repairs, and this book is the absolute best resource I've found! I am especially grateful for Stanley's clear, step-by-step instructions (no scratching my head or throwing down my tools in despair!) and detailed illustrations. The book describes the whole gamut of household projects, from painting to patios to roofing, in terms a novice can understand, but won't offend a pro. I'd stake my foundations on this one! ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (1)

Yay!
I bought this book as a gift for my son who is purchasing his first house.The illustrations are clear and colorful.The projects all seem do-able and even fun! ... Read more

Product Description
great reference for repairing and remodeling your bathroom. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

home improvement
Met expectations, donated to a non-profit Native American self-help home improvement library, will get years of use and be educational for many.Service/quality good ... Read more

Product Description
This new edition of The Complete Guide to Contracting Your Homegives aspiring homeowners exactly the information they need to manage their own construction project. Full-color illustrations andphotographs with revamped forms and checklists present the material much like a project manual used by professional contractors. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (32)

Great Book That I used To Build My First Home with.
Well I must differ with Mr Landers. His review seems from another planet. I had purchased this book several years ago and was pleasantly surprised when we finally decided to build and found it in my library. Yes there is some out dated information, and its not meant to be the contacting bible but it was very informative for us. I specially liked the management part section that is used once you start the process. For example I used the calculations to get a real world price on cement by the yard for footing, foundation, garage floor and basement floor and compared it to quotes that came in. The quotes are really the ultimate test in pricing. Bear in mind that you are contracting from a set of approved plans that professionals have stamped, detailing the construction process that your sub must adhere to and that are part of the construction code. Great book and I highly recommend it.

Please
I bought this book to further my education.I am in the business and was curious about what was being told and sold to consumers.This book is a joke.Seem like a plot to scare you away from building your own home.Trust me, the process is much simpler then this book describes it; slightly intimidating at first, but much more simple.

All reviews currently posted are for PREVIOUS edition
First of all, all of the reviews that currently appear on this site are for the PREVIOUS edition. I just purchased this 4TH edition WHICH WAS JUST RELEASED LAST MONTH - January 2010. This is an excellent book giving excellent insight to contracting your custom built home.

Obsolete, Incomplete
The first thing I looked up in this book was siding options.What can you say about a book that fails to list the single most common and cost effective option: Fiber Cement (aka hardiplank).I think this is a book inexpertly updated from the 80s.The book has NOTHING on Windows.It has a little section on finding info on the internet that pre-dates Google.DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK.It's a waste of time and money.

A Fantastic Book For Some Wanting to Enter the IT Business
This is an excellent resource for the IT contractor or someone entering the IT businees. As some one who does IT contracting I found that the section on "Effectively Improving Your IT Market Value" especially useful. This is one area that I need to work on for personal growth and this book shows how. Highly recommended. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a practical, comprehensive reference book on home improvement that covers all the basics, in detail, for the do-it-yourself self-starter. ... Read more

Product Description
From the one and only Black & Decker comes this ultimate guide to outdoor home improvement.With over 150 projects, The Complete Photo Guide to Outdoor Home Improvement offers something for every reader—the novice do-it-yourselfer and construction expert alike. Its 502 pages are jam-packed with the most precise, detailed and easy to follow how-to information available. Projects include:

Customer Reviews (1)

Well worth the money
Great pictures and ideas. Well worth the money even if you only use it for only one of the projects in this book. ... Read more

Product Description
If you have the proper tools, you have a much better chance of getting every home improvement job done right. With this essential guide by tool expert Sandor Nagyszalanczy, homeowners can find out exactly what tool they need, how to ask for it at the hardware store — and how to use it when they get home. The Homeowner's Ultimate Tool Guide features 14 tool kits — including suggestions for plumbing, electrical, carpentry, painting, and car repair. It offers professional advice on how to choose tools and how to use them for better results, features over 400 color photos, and is an invaluable reference for any homeowner — especially those who are assembling tool kits for the first time. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Really holds your hand
This book really holds your hand when it comes to presenting the broad spectrum of modern tools that are available to the general public.Well written and covers all aspects of tool purchase including the purpose of various tools and what to look for in a quality tool.Was exactly what I was looking for!

Helps me make cost-effective choices
I bought this book so that I would be able to purchase tools as gifts for my husband without having to ask him what to buy. I figured that would spoil any surprises. I know next to nothing about what to look for when purchasing tools, so this book has been an invaluable reference for me. It has definitely helped me make smart purchases and saved me money because the author does an excellent job of explaining the pros and cons of different tool choices. He also discusses and what to look for when selecting particular tools, so you know exactly what you want befor you make any purchases. I highly recommend this book.

From painting and plumbing to mechanical and tiling
Assemble a useful tool kit for a variety of home improvement jobs, from painting and plumbing to mechanical and tiling, with the help of Homeowner's Ultimate Tool Guide which explains how to use and select the right tools the first time. Tips include understanding tool applications, understanding the categories they belong in, and understanding the reasoning behind selecting one tool over a similar type. Color photos abound and enhance the result. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Did it myself
The book is an excellent primer and provides sufficient guidance for even a novice though a basic knowledge of hand tools is necessary. The instructions are clear and though the illustrations are hardly artisticthey are a good visual companion. If you are in a remote or secluded areaand away from the utility infrastructure, and building codes, this is oneof the best books to start doing it yourself with a rustic flaire. ... Read more

Product Description
Those annoying habits can be damaging to a relationship over time. There's hope for change. Dr. Chapman provides a do-it-yourself approach to helping couples learn to overcome bad habits. By learning and using Dr. Chapman's simple 3-step process (admitting and asking forgiveness for your own past failures; discovering and speaking your spouse's love language; and learning the proper time, place, and way to request behavioral change), couples will be able to successfully negotiate change without resorting to arguing or manipulation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

This is a quick, tight read --- perfect for brushing up on your marriage, even if it's already shining.
Couples resort to using manipulation within a marriage for one reason: it works! But anyone who has been married for very long will tell you that manipulation is a muddy foundation for any relationship --- it's messy and unstable. Are there other ways to get a spouse to change? Gary Chapman, author of the bestselling THE FOUR SEASONS OF MARRIAGES, believes that there are more effective, long-lasting and loving ways to negotiate change with those you love.

HOME IMPROVEMENTS, the latest addition in The Chapman Guide series, provides a practical, down-to-earth blueprint for building a solid foundation for a healthy marriage.

Why is the desire for spousal change so universal and yet the reality of real, lasting change so rarely experienced? Chapman believes that most couples are starting at the wrong place, failing to understand the power of love and lacking the skills to effectively communicate the desire for a spouse to change.

Real change begins by changing yourself and not waiting for your spouse to make the first change. Chapman prescribes looking for the "plank in your own eye" and assessing your own weaknesses and failures in the relationship. He even goes so far as to encourage asking for outside help from close friends and family members and listening to their observations about your marriage. No doubt some of the comments will sting, but, if used prayerfully, they can help you begin to recognize areas that you need to work on.

What about the change in your spouse? That starts only after you've begun to strengthen the foundation of love in your marriage by learning to speak your spouse's love languages. Chapman draws from his bestselling book, THE FIVE LOVE LANGUAGES, to encourage readers to fill up their spouse's love tank through words of affirmation, gifts, acts of service, quality time and physical touch.

Now down to the nitty-gritty: When you deliver a request for change to your spouse, sandwich it with compliments and remember that even the most minute movement toward change should be applauded. At the same time, it's important to keep in mind that some things will never change, and that the real change is going to have to come from you. Chapman shares a personal story from his own marriage. His wife has a tendency to leave cabinet doors open. After asking her to close them for months and growing more frustrated with the lack of response, the couple's child fell on an open drawer and cut herself. Chapman thought the incident would compel his wife to finally begin closing the drawers. Two months later, it finally dawned on him: she was never going to close drawers! Chapman says he was faced with a choice: be miserable every time he saw an open drawer, or accept this as something that will never change and close the drawers himself. He wisely chose the latter, recognizing that such a simple activity only takes a second a day.

Such down-to-earth wisdom and advice line the pages of HOME IMPROVEMENTS. This is a quick, tight read --- perfect for brushing up on your marriage, even if it's already shining.

--- Reviewed by Margaret Oines
... Read more

Product Description
The Complete Guide to Home Masonry is the most comprehensive and useful guide to masonry for today's do-it-yourself homeowner. It even includes natural stone-a material absent from many competitive titles. This book is the only resource on the market that provides clear step-by-step instructions and color photographs for building with the types of masonry materials that are in demand today, including stone veneer, glass block, concrete block, poured concrete, stucco, and brick.

Readers will discover that The Complete Guide to Home Masonry offers many of today's most popular masonry projects, including sidewalks, patios, driveways, barbecues, steps and retaining walls, as well as stunning projects you won't find anywhere else, such as circular stone windows, brick pillars, arches and a veneer stone wall.

Highlights:Features large color photographs for each major step.Uses a clean, uncluttered layout with clear, concise instructions under each photo.Includes complete tools and materials lists for each project.Appeals to a wide range of skill levels.Features masonry projects that are attractive and unique.Contains color photos that provide a realistic visual reference for a variety of different types of stone.Includes popular manufactured masonry materials, such as interlocking blocks commonly used in retaining walls. Lists commonly used types of stone with information on availability and recommended usage in different areas of the country. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Home Masonry
The price was very attractive and the ordering process went smoothly. The book was delivered quickly and was in very good condition. I am impressed with this transaction and satisfied with the product.

Not used all of it, but spot on for what I needed
Maybe there is better out there, but I used this to retile my kitchen, and it worked great.A trip to Lowes and this book in hand had me repairing tiles in my kitchen and looking better than the origionals that were in place. I will keep this in my collection for a while.

Not Very good for Stacked Stone Instructions.
While this book had fairly good instructions for completing walks, brick walls and patios.It was not very good for instructions on completeing indoor stacked stone projects.I could have saved money if I had just completed a search on line and down loaded the information from HGTV or DIY.

Excellent book for typical do it yourself projects
Has simple easy instructions with pictures for construction oftypical DIY projects like pillars, patios.Excellent book!

A bit too general but adequate to get basic jobs done
With a chapter covering a project or two in each flavor of medium, this book in a general sense yeilds what you need to build basic walkways, walls, patios.On repairs of existing structures I believe it to do a much better job.

I've been looking for something more in depth on the subject of concrete (acid staining, texturing, etc) as an alternative to the standard tile or plain grey concrete.Unfortunately this book could not help me at all, they have one chapter devoted to concrete and its far from inspirational.I'm not asking for the world here, but if someone is going to name a book "complete" and end up with something thats just barely enough, I have to give it a just passing grade.

I recommend the following instead, especially since they are 1/2 the price but have better content:

(Better Homes and Gardens)
Step-By-Step Masonry and Concrete

(sunset)
Complete Masonry: Building Techniques, Decorative Concrete, Tools and Materials

*note: Sunset has several books on masonry, 3 of them are called "Complete Masonry", I've only had a chance to look at one of them.Also for inspiration and more in depth coverage of concrete, check out "Concrete Countertops: Design, Form, and Finishes for the New Kitchen and Bath" it is excellent, but you will sort of need a basic book in addition to it. ... Read more